“The post-world war humanist era failed to achieve much beyond the establishment of basic international forums for arguing one intellectual formulation against another. Because they didn’t recognize consciousness—and with it spirituality—they overlooked the great subjective reservoirs that serve our species.

Following these precedents, whole sectors of our world, especially in science and academia in general, also continue to ignore these deeper aspects of human nature. Formalized religions, being themselves creatures of intellectualizations, creeds, and dogmas, make the same error, stripping from spirituality the deeper subjective gifts and leaving the same limited potential of arguing about concepts. Without an underlying subjective praxis of love and caring, such an endeavor soon turns into conflict.

Religions around the world motivate billions with simplistic, limited, and often patently false ideas about reality. Meanwhile humanism, which is the default setting of the secular world, embraces all the elegance of a sophisticated understanding of reality but can’t seem to achieve an everyday practice that goes deeper than endless intellectual arguments over ideas.

In other words, religion often lacks the sophistication of actual knowledge, while secular humanism lacks a compelling praxis. This disconnect is another frontier that will need to be addressed as the integrative and holistic age matures,”

[Read in TCIA about what it will take to develop all of our potential skill sets, and approaches from multiple perspectives, to move toward real global problem solving]

“Most of us remember the phrase “You have to admit it’s getting better” from a popular Beatles song. The phrase is often used to summarize the long-term historical analysis of Integral and Spiral Dynamics, which provide an optimistic vision of the world’s progress to date.

Looking back through our history, it’s been a dicey past, with some long periods such as the Dark Ages appearing bleak indeed. Yet on many fronts, we can see that humankind has gradually become just a little better.

Perhaps most of the world’s 7 billion citizens have never heard this positive view of where history appears to be going.”

[Explore in detail the many examples that show, yes, little by little things have been getting better on the planet — and for our planet’s citizens]

“In terms of human behavior, one of the clearest examples of this progress is seen in both individuals and societies simultaneously—the gradual growth from reactive to accommodating behavior, and from accommodating behavior to transformative behavior. Individuals start out stormy in youth and adolescence, move onto a plateau known as “mellowing,” and in later life shift into a truly transformative and creative period of adulthood.

The world has also moved through sequential stages. Our species moved from egocentric behavior, through ethnocentric behavior, and now into a sense of world-centric. The earlier stages were ripe with reactive behavior, especially wars. Yet somehow, especially after the world wars of the 20th century, there emerged a plateau of mellowing, as if humanity realized there had to be a better way than the global conflicts through which we had just passed. The result was more-accommodating political, cultural, and economic organizations.

Following this there emerged the world’s own transformative era, the dream of how higher ideals might propel our globalizing species to a better life.”

[Read about more examples in TCIA where Integral and Spiral Dynamics appear to have proven, beyond a doubt, that things are always getting better. This, however, still does not guarantee a happy ending; read about that as well]

“We can’t forget that some futurists predict a much darker scenario—a vision that comes either from not seeing the adaptive nature of the evolutionary process or from failing to catch the vision of the collective wellbeing through the lens of the heart.

The tenor of this darker scenario is a pseudo-Darwinian world of the “fittest,” controlled by a wealthy and privileged few. In this scenario there is no longer a substantial middle class anywhere in the world. Neither is there social mobility nor safety nets of any kind, with an exploited working class enslaved by debt and their need for access to the fundamentals of life. This is a world no different from the world that already exists in many of the heinous dictatorships on the planet. Such a world could encompass the whole globe if our species makes unenlightened decisions.”

[Read in TCIA about how some scenarios for our future are indeed bleak and, further, many aspects of these dire scenarios seem to already be happening]

“After something like 6,000 years of cultural patriarchy, the rise of women is now an undeniable trend. This cutting edge trend in the evolution of our species is a major source of hope in terms of interrupting those forces among us that would bequeath to our species a dark future.

Only in recent years has an understanding of the feminine as bringing wholeness emerged.”

[Read in TCIAA the story of 6000 years of patriarchy and what, in the current integrative and holistic ages, is finally beginning to break it down]

“In the classic Heart Sutra of the East, the complementary elements are wisdom cast in the feminine, along with skillful means cast in the masculine. Such views are the polar opposite of the witch, and form the beginning of what appears to be a journey to a masculine-feminine mutuality.

This is the archetypal role that’s emerging in the Interspiritual Age. Coincidentally, science has also come to this understanding. As we noted previously, at the base of modern physics and cosmology are principles of complementarities or dual essentialities.”

[Read in TCIA about the history of mythology and how the masculine has, so far, told — and dominated– much of the story]

“…in the rise of the feminine voice within religions, one can identify three stages. The third and most recent is probably the most promising because it reflects the central realizations of the emerging integrative and holistic era.”

[Read in TCIA about how, with regard to the world’s religions, stages of emergence for the feminine voice parallel those of the international feminist movement itself]

“There can be no complete discussion of interspirituality without addressing what it would look like if, as Brother Teasdale predicted, interspirituality becomes the natural path for religion and spirituality in the Third Millennium.”

[TCIA gives a detailed accounting of what interspirituaty is and what it might look like within each existing world religion. It’s an exciting scenario]

“Brother Teasdale identified spirituality itself as the potential global religion of this millennium. Obviously, he distinguished this spirituality from the creed-based exclusive religions that have dominated our planet. However, he didn’t see these as at cross-purposes, only part of an evolving process…

Teasdale also recognized that the world’s secular elites have for the most part discarded religion, seeing it only as the superstitions of our antiquated magic-mythic lens. Yet, as he said, this dismissal has been foolhardy, since six-sevenths of the world’s population still holds religious views—and, especially in the West, they are powerful at the ballot box.

Something more finely nuanced and holistic must arise, for it won’t be sufficient for our planet’s survival if these two cultures—
the rational and the mystical—continue simply to coexist without communicating creatively concerning world problem solving.”

[Read in TCIA about what spirituality may look like in the future and how it will be possible for it to become the religion of the third millennium]

“This “new earth,” to borrow Eckhart Tolle’s famous phrase, would require a new consciousness involving the wellbeing of all. Decade by decade, little by little, the integrative lens and integrative way of life would continue to evolve, balancing our interior and exterior experiences and gifts. Though utopian, it’s the basic ethos of all the world’s religions—at least in their original vision, if not so often lived out.

If such a new earth seems farfetched, a world no longer ruled by monarchs would have seemed unrealistic to most in the medieval period, as would having an individual opinion during our 70 centuries of God-Kings and totalitarian states. Just ask yourself what kind of a world we would have if millions expressed an ethos of unconditionality like that of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandella, or The Most Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh.”

[Read TCIA’s measured and realistic approaches to how transitions can be made by the world’s religions that lead to a spirituality for the 21st Century]

“Interspirituality is an inevitable convergence, the path to which is similar for a great many. Most start their lives in a religious tradition, most often the one of their family or culture.

n its most fundamental sense, interspirituality is the sharing of ultimate experiences across traditions, making accessible to more and more people an expansion of consciousness through the many forms the human spiritual journey offers. As Brother Teasdale predicted, as the interspiritual experience matures, it will facilitate a new kind of interreligious dialogue worldwide.”

[Read TICA’s account of the natural stages that nearly every one goes through as their perspective about the universality of religious experience matures more and more]

“As people begin to taste other religious experiences and appreciate the rich historical backgrounds behind them, they find the interfaith experience increasingly meaningful. As a person’s spiritual path matures, they often begin to harvest the riches of varied religious practices, experiences, and insights. Truly valuing this richness is often referred to as a “trans-traditional spirituality.” Worldwide, large numbers today utilize the practices of more than one religion.

Trans-traditional spirituality is especially common in large cities in which cultural diversity is high. Interfaith celebrations, music, chant, dance, and inter-mystical meditation are commonly advertised. In North America’s and Europe’s more than a dozen interfaith seminaries, virtually every graduate ordained as an “interfaith” or “interspiritual” minister has said that their interest in interfaith or interspiritual ministry followed a fulfilling experience with trans-traditional spirituality.”

[Read about how Interspirituality develops inevitably from the trends of interfaith and trans-traditional spirituality]

“Because interspirituality is a state toward which we tend naturally as spirituality evolves, many were engaging in interspirituality before Brother Teasdale coined the word in 1999.”

[Read more about the foundationalists and other pioneer spiritual thinkers who also saw interspirituality as inevitable for our future. Read TCIA’s accounts of the Snowmass Initiatives, Inter-Religious Monastic Dialogue and other processes that set the stage for interspirituality’s emergence. And, see how the roots of interspirituality go even deeper in secular society]

“Witnessing the speedy growth of the interspiritual vision in the decade since Teasdale’s seminal writings, it’s fair to say that today anything goes in creating the structures and activities that will ultimately serve this vision. We are in a time of experimentation, open to anyone. Even the ordaining authority for creating interfaith and interspiritual ministries now emerging from the increasing number of interfaith seminaries and associations is an exploration of how interspirituality might best unfold…..

Fortunately the true interspiritual experience is itself synonymous with the nature of true spiritual, moral, and ethical maturity in the context of any of the world’s spiritual traditions. Interspirituality is actually spiritual maturity and thus quite in tune with all the world’s existing traditions. It’s far from “just a new blend.”

[Read more in TCIA about how interspirituality is a natural evolution within all the religious traditions but also leaves room for new experiments tran-traditionally and in an ever-developing interfaith community]

“Teasdale identified the primary work of interspirituality as the cultivation of that innate element in our human nature—the mystical endeavor.

In this pursuit, one meets only what’s right here, right now—as if there was no history of differences between all the myriad paths of spiritual seekers. When individuals explore their inner space with meditation or contemplation—call it what you may—or assemble and share this exploration, they are no longer relating in the context of concepts or ideas. They are plumbing the subtle realms of reality, whether understood in spiritual language or the language of science’s quantum fields. This territory essentially has no history, occurring only in the “now.”

Brother Teasdale also recognized the historical differences of the various traditions and saw that they required a reaching out from the unity consciousness of primary interspiritual sharing, involving a full recognition and embracing of each other in what’s right here, right now, with a view to the healing of these past experiences of disagreement.”

“In practice this means that interspirituality has two kinds of initial work to accomplish:

• Cultivating the Presence found in the pristine contemplative experience, as if there had never been a history of divisions among us.
• Working through interreligious gatherings, discussions, dialogues, and discourse to heal the divisions of this fractured past.”

[Read about the interplay of these two mandates and how they meet the fundamental needs of our spiritual nature and address the healing of differences and conflicts from the past]

“When people look at interspirituality without going deeply into the heart and considering the implications of an actual unity consciousness, they are tempted to think interspirituality is an attempt at a new “blend religion.” In theological terms this is called “syncretism, ”a blend that isn’t exactly this and not exactly that. This can be confusing for people who equate religious belief with the “faith phenomenon” and the latter with absolute truth.…

The holistic age and the experience of interspirituality—the very awakening Brother Teasdale was speaking of—calls us to go deeper into the world of the heart. … The heart of interspirituality is a unity consciousness, which is innately inclusive. This is why interspirituality is ultimately an experiential matter….

Fortunately the true interspiritual experience is itself synonymous with the nature of true spiritual, moral, and ethical maturity in the context of any of the world’s spiritual traditions. Interspirituality is actually spiritual maturity and thus quite in tune with all the world’s existing traditions. It’s far from “just a new blend.”

[Read more in TCIA about the challenges of assisting the unfolding of a natural and universal religion for our planet’s future]

“What could be more appropriate in our age of growing fear of multinational corporations and financial institutions than a call by religion to experiment with holarchies and circles?

The kind of activities that appear naturally across the interfaith, trans-traditional, and interspiritual landscape now number in the thousands, as can be discovered through internet search engines.”

[Explore the exciting new structures of holarchy and “circles” in TCIA’s detailed treatment of these innovative new forms of organizational structure and governance]

“It’s one thing to teach about awakening and quite another to produce awakened behavior. The proof will be the pudding when it comes to the interspiritual community actually being able to create an exemplary collective.

For all the wonderful words about awakening and unity consciousness—and for all the inspiring teachers whose focus is oneness—if such teachings aren’t reflected in an ability to work together with new skill, it will be cause for pause, even skepticism.

The failure of communities to create institutions that reflect their professed values has been epidemic throughout history. The interspiritual, integral, and evolutionary consciousness movements need to look at this soberly. For all the high-end talk and theory about “oneness,” it can be hard to get past all the advanced egos in the room. This is where the rubber meets the road.”

[Read in TCIA about the paradoxes of leadership and the ego-related problems of past leadership styles; read about new horizontal models and how challenging it will be to get the self-centeredness and ego out of how we humans work together]

“Nothing happens without someone who has a vision to which they are committed.

In these new endeavor of interspirituality, everyone is a pioneer…”

[Read in TCIA about the challenges of developing interspirituality and the important of creative new leaders who deeply understand, and embody, the vision]

“Teasdale felt that many traditions and individuals were pre-adapted to make the leap to a spirituality for the Third Millennium. He saw this as part of the mystical process that underpins how the natural search for unifying principles and Archimedean points among the world’s spiritual traditions would result in the emergence of an Interspiritual Age.

This was why he advocated person-to-person contact among mystics and contemplatives. He suspected they would recognize each other’s experience of unity consciousness. Since they were respected by the leadership of their own tradition, they might be able to turn organized and exclusive religion toward a more universal understanding.”

[Study TCIA’s innovative models of how to create and carry out successful interspiritual initiatives and innovative leadership]

“Interspirituality is the way authentic spirituality has inherently responded to humankind’s advancing sense of unity and the inevitable processes of globalization and multiculturalism. In other words, it’s a phenomenon that has a life of its own quite apart from the particular individuals who pioneered its expression.

Central to the vision…is the warning that spirituality as a transcendent pursuit is inadequate, and that the bliss of transcendent consciousness is only an aspect of the meaning of our species. A mature understanding of awakened spirituality involves both the transcendent and the transformation of what’s right here, right now.

Brother Teasdale warned of the same partial understanding, as did Aurobindo. Teasdale said that the danger of a heightened transcendent experience is that it can overlook the yearning of the heart. He explained that from knowledge of this yearning comes “will,” which is the element that can bring together transcendent experience and world transformation.”

• READ ABOUT INTERSPIRITUALITY’S SYNERGISTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH SACRED ACTIVISM AND THE INTEGRAL VISION
• READ ABOUT WHAT “FULL COMMITMENT” TO SPIRITUAL PRACTICE AND SACRED ACTIVISM LOOKS LIKE IN THE RELIGION OF THE FUTURE
• READ ABOUT THE FUTURE OF INTERSPIRITUAL AND INTERFAITH EDUCATION
• STUDY THE NINE ELEMENTS OF A UNIVERSAL SPIRITUALITY
• CONCLUDE WITH TCIA’S CALL FOR OPEN-ENDED EXPLORATION OF THE CREATIVE WORLD OF INTERSPIRITUAITY AND IT’S POTENTIAL TO TRANSFORM RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY TOWARD A POSITIVE GLOBAL FUTURE